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Video: Cold weather can't stop Mardi Gras

NEW ORLEANS — Pete Fountain, clarinet in hand and looking dapper in a white tuxedo and fedora trimmed in gold, kicked off Mardi Gras with his "Half Fast Marching Club" the way they have for 50 years: with beads and jazz.

Fountain, 79, has marched every year except the year after Hurricane Katrina hit, when he had bypass surgery.

"We're slower than we were, and older than we were," Fountain said with a laugh. "But on Mardi Gras none of it matters."

Tuesday, the final day of Carnival, was sunny and cold with high temperatures expected to hang around 50 degrees.

"I have plenty of antifreeze with me if I need it," said Jessie Grace, 57, playfully waving a flask from his pocket. "If Mardi Gras doesn't warm you up, nothing will."

Gumbo on the boil by 7 a.m.
Grace and about 30 family members and friends staked out their spot on St. Charles Avenue at 2 a.m., setting up chairs and tables.

By 7 a.m. gumbo was cooking in a big pot and ribs were on the barbecue grill.